Assessing the Urban Form of Hill Settlements, New Shimla, India Using 3D GIS Tools

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to find out several problems on an ongoing Hill Town Development concerning the geographical landscape of the region and analyzes them from the design point of view using 3D GIS tools. The level of urbanization through which the Indian hill towns and cities are going through has harmed the physical environment and has led to various calamities. Due to urbanization, immense development has undergone on these ecological sensitive zones, which has transformed the urban form and environment in and around hill towns and cities. Therefore, there is a strong need to facilitate actions toward maintaining the urban form of hill settlements. At present, the traditional urban structure of the hill towns is going through a development crisis in terms of encroachment of newer forms on hilly terrains and enforcement of new regulation guidelines, which are not as per the hill context. This has impacted the city in terms of the transformation of urban form due to scattered and unplanned development, loss of identity and scenic beauty due to increase in disaster; and disconnection with the social environment. The hill town of Shimla has been considered as the site for exploration, where the urban structure of the town has already transformed into a fragile environment because of the immense human development pressure. Hence, various site development issues have been identified using the method of overlapping various layers of GIS analysis so that in future developments, these issues can be addressed to develop a cohesive relationship between the people and nature.KeywordsHilltownTransformationUrban morphologyUrban environment3D GIS